Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank pose in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace after they announced their engagement. Photo / Getty Images
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank pose in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace after they announced their engagement. Photo / Getty Images
He was working as a waiter in a cocktail bar.
She was sixth in line to the British throne.
But it was no rags-to-riches story for Jack Brooksbank, who is set to marry Princess Eugenie at Windsor Castle on Friday in a $5.2 million two-day extravaganza shaping up to be bigger than the May wedding of her cousin Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle.
The event has been tarred with claims of a misuse of taxpayer spending for a non-working royal, and the family have endured the embarrassment of failing to secure public service broadcaster BBC to televise the event.
The happy couple at the wedding of Charlie Van Straubenzee. Photo / Getty Images
And then there's the question of how to solve a problem like the mother of the bride, aka Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, which has long haunted the monarchy.
The couple's love story started in 2010 during a skiing holiday in Verbier, Switzerland where Eugenie's father Prince Andrew owns a ski chalet.
Aged 24, Brooksbank had given university a miss, and was waiting tables and serving drinks at Devonshire Terrace, a bar and restaurant near Liverpool Street in London.
The Queen's granddaughter Eugenie, aged 20, was studying English literature, art history and politics at Newcastle University.
It was "love at first sight", Brooksbank said during a televised interview with the BBC following the couple's engagement in January.
Princess Eugenie's Christening At Sandringham Church. From Left : Princess Margaret, Duchess Of York Holding Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew And The Queen. Photo / Getty Images
Eugenie is said to have admired his work ethic.
"She is very uncomplicated," a source told the Daily Express.
"She's a doer, a worker, as is Jack. They are very suited.
"Jack's always worked hard. He chose not to go to university so that he could get on the career ladder and Eugenie loved that.
"She didn't care at all that he was a waiter. She might be a princess, but Eugenie comes with few airs and graces."
Brooksbank was formerly known as "barman Jack" among Chelsea partygoers.
But despite a working-class job, he wasn't a working-class man.
Brooksbank is said to have already mingled in royal circles before he met his wife-to-be. He was a friend of Prince Harry's before the couple met.
The 32-year-old is a descendant of the Brooksbank baronets and reportedly a distant cousin of Eugenie's. (Her mother, the Duchess of York, is the great-great-granddaughter of Lady Julia Coke, who is the daughter of Jack's great-great-grandfather, Thomas Coke.)
Prince William, Prince Harry and Their Cousins Princess Beatrice And Princess Eugenie in Switzerland. Photo / Getty
His parents are 68-year-old George Brooksbank, a chartered accountant and company director, and his wife Nicola, 64.
He has younger brother Thomas, 29, a possible candidate for best man.
Brooksbank was educated at Stowe School in Buckingham, where boarding fees are almost $23,600 a term.
Since 2001, his family's address has been an apartment in a gated community in the southwest London borough of Wandsworth, not far from Battersea Park.
After working at pubs and bars, Brooksbank is said to have been poached by businessman and nightclub owner Piers Adam and employed by the Markham Inn.
He went on to manage Adam's Mayfair nightclub Mahiki, a favourite among royalty and celebrities.
In August 2016, he set up Jack Brooksbank Limited, a wine wholesaler, and is also an ambassador for Casamigos Tequila, owned by George Clooney and Cindy Crawford's husband Rande Gerber, who are both expected to be guests at the wedding.
Casamigos Tequila. Photo / Getty Images
Brooksbank has been described by friends as "kind and selfless" and a perfect match for Eugenie, now 28.
But he hasn't entirely avoided scandal.
In 2013, photos of Brooksbank touching the breasts of a naked stripper while blindfolded and covered in candle wax during his 21st birthday celebrations were leaked online.
The Sun on Sunday reported the story but said the photos were "too raunchy to publish". They were removed shortly after Buckingham Palace was alerted to their existence.
Eugenie (now ninth-in-line to the throne after the births of Eugenie's cousin Prince William's children George, Charlotte and Louis) is the second child of Andrew and Fergie, Duke and Duchess of York.
Princess Eugenie At The Upton House School Sports Day as a child. Photo / Getty Images
Their first born, Princess Beatrice, 30, will be maid-of-hour at the wedding.
Eugenie's parents divorced when she was six years old and despite public criticism and stories of royal shunning of her mother, she has described her parents as "the best divorced couple".
Eugenie has faced health issues — at age 12 she underwent back surgery at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London to correct scoliosis — But she has made a full recovery despite two 12-inch titanium rods in her back.
She boarded at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, where term fees are $25,000, and undertook a gap year before attending university.
The Duke Of York And Sarah, Duchess Of York With Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Photo / Getty Images
In 2013, she moved to New York City to work for the online auction firm Paddle8 as a benefit auctions manager but despite living in different countries, her relationship with Brooksbank flourished.
There are said to have been several Skype calls keeping it alive.
In July 2015, Eugenie moved back to London to work for the Hauser & Wirth art gallery as an associate director and was promoted to director in 2017.
In January, Brooksbank proposed while the couple were on holiday in front of a volcano looking over a lake as the sun was setting in Nicaragua.
"The lake was so beautiful," Eugenie told the BBC.
"The light was just a special light I had never seen. I actually said this is an incredible moment, and then he popped the question, which was really surprising even though we have been together seven years. I was over the moon.
Princess Eugenie arrives at Christie's Auction House in 2010 where she is on a work experience placement during her summer break from Newcastle University. Photo / Getty Images
"[It was a] complete surprise. But it was the perfect moment, we couldn't be happier."
They couple live in Ivy Cottage, within the grounds of Kensington Palace, which is also inhabited by Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children (Apartment 1A) and Meghan and Harry (Nottingham Cottage).
They pay a "commercial rent" on the cottage, but it's likely a fraction of the true market rate, which would be thousands a week.
Princess Eugenie does not carry out public duties — like the Queen or her cousins — and receives no allowance from the Privy Purse.
Prince William, wife Kate and their children live at Kensington Palace, as do Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Photo / Getty
She undertakes minimal public engagements but when she does, they are usually connected with the charities she supports, including the Teenage Cancer Trust and Children in Crisis.
There isn't expected to be as much family drama as on the Markle scale (no half brothers or sisters pining for an invite) but Eugenie's mother Fergie is still an awkward thorn in the royal family's side.
She was present as all the finer details of the wedding were discussed at Balmoral over the summer.
It was at the Scottish castle when Fergie came down to breakfast to see photographs of her having her toes sucked by her American "financial adviser" John Bryan, splashed across the front pages in 1992.
She was cast as a royal outsider ever since and has fought to be accepted back into the Windsor fold.
Fergie has described her soon-to-be son-in-law as her best friend. Photo / Getty
And she isn't one to shy away from the limelight — the Duchess was keen to promote her daughter's big day via the BBC's One Show, where she jokingly referred to herself as MOB, or mother of the bride.
She declared that she and Brooksbank had bonded over Casamigos tequila, saying: "He'll just hand me the tequila and say 'Come on, mother-in-law, down it'."
And the couple are likely to have cringed when the ever-enthusiastic Duchess declared she was looking forward to becoming a grandmother, insisting: "They are thrilled because I write children's books and I'm a child, I haven't grown up."
And after a series of gushing social media posts, in which she referred to Brooksbank as her "son, brother and best friend", she wrote a letter published in celebrity magazine Hello!.
"Dearest Eugenie and Jack The Man, when you walk into a room, you bring smiles to the faces of all who meet you," she wrote.
Eugenie, Brooksbank and Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York. Photo / Getty Images
She's also been criticised over recent "cringey behaviour" including selling juicers on QVC.
But the woman once dubbed the Duchess of Pork by the British tabloids appears to be experiencing something of a royal renaissance.
She was there when at Balmoral, where the Queen was guest of honour at Princess Beatrice's 30th birthday party in August.
The 92-year-old Queen has reportedly made it clear to courtiers that orders from her beloved granddaughter's mother are to be respected.
And although Fergie was left off the guest list for the evening reception of Meghan and Harry's wedding, she is expected to be seated alongside her ex and Princess Beatrice for the ceremony at St George's Chapel, and treated as "part of the family" at the champagne reception the Queen is hosting afterwards at St George's Hall.
She'll also be at the black-tie reception at Royal Lodge, the Windsor home Fergie still shares with Prince Andrew despite their 1996 divorce.
The Queen's cousin, party planner Lady Elizabeth Anson, is thought to be involved in the Friday castle reception. But Bentleys Entertainment is said to be organising the second festival-themed wedding event on the Saturday afternoon — very much under Fergie's direction.
Princess Eugenie of York and Prince Andrew, Duke of York attend wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Photo / Getty Images
It is the same company Victoria and David Beckham used when they married at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland.
Fergie's legendary bargaining skills, which have prompted some behind palace gates to dub her the "queen of the freebie", have no doubt been put to good use.
Quite whether the British public share Fergie's enthusiasm remains to be seen.
Although the palace insists it was inundated with more than 100,000 applications for one of the 1200 spectator spots within the castle walls, there was still plenty of hotel accommodation available, reported the Daily Telegraph early this week.
And despite Prince Andrew's best efforts, the BBC refused to televise the ceremony, saying it would be a ratings flop, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Princess Eugenie is said to have invited 850 guests to St George's Chapel, which out-does Meghan and Harry's 600 invitees.
And like Harry and Meghan, the couple will embark on a carriage ride to wave to well-wishers following the ceremony, an addition that will bump the security bill up to an estimated $3.9 million.
The taxpayer is set to cough up millions for the wedding, which has sparked more than 18,000 people to sign a petition demanding that no public money be spent on the wedding.
And last week, homeless people living on the streets surrounding Windsor Castle were visited by police and offered the chance to have their sleeping bags and personal items locked up in storage for the day.
Thames Valley Police said people along the route will be searched but homeless people will not be forcibly removed.
Only time will tell whether the second biggest Windsor wedding of the year will live up to the happy couple's expectations.
What you need to know
The date
The couple reportedly wanted to tie the knot in September, but were asked to push the wedding back in order to accommodate Prince Harry and Meghan's traveling schedule.
It is now a two-day affair on Friday and Saturday. The ceremony starts at 11pm New Zealand time.
The venue
The wedding will be held at St Geirge's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Photo / Getty
The ceremony will be at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, followed by a reception in the afternoon hosted by the Queen.
The couple will have a carriage procession through Windsor town centre before an evening reception at the Royal Lodge, where Eugenie's father Prince Andrew lives.
On the Saturday afternoon, a festival-themed wedding event will be held at Royal Lodge.
The dress
Princess Eugenie has not revealed anything about her wedding dress, other than she will choose a British designer.
Bookies have placed high odds on her picking a couture Stella McCartney gown, who designed Markle's reception dress.
Princess Beatrice of York is maid of honour and Brooksbank's brother Thomas, 29, is a possible candidate for best man.
Theodora Rose Williams, daughter of British singer Robbie Williams and his wife will be a flower girl.
Princess Beatrice of York will be the maid-of-honour at the wedding. Photo / Getty Images
The other flower girls are speculated to be Princess Charlotte of Cambridge; Maud Windsor, goddaughter of the bride and daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor; and Ines de Givenchy, daughter of J.P. Morgan and Co banker Olivier de Givenchy.
Prince George of Cambridge, is said to be a page boy along with Louis de Givenchy, son of Olivier de Givenchy.
Princess Cahrlotte (pictured with mother Kate) is expected to be a flowergirl. She is pictured at the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews. Photo / Getty
The guests
Expected among the 850 guests are: George Clooney, wife Amal, Cindy Crawford and husband Randy Gerber, Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field, the Beckhams, Sir Elton John, James Blunt, Ellie Goulding, Cara Delevingne, Margot Robbie, Sienna Miller, Suki Waterhouse and Ed Sheeran.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin sare expected to be guests at the wedding. Photo / Getty
Members of the public have been invited to apply for one of 1200 spectator spots within the castle walls.
The dress code
For the afternoon reception, male guests must wear a morning coat and women are required to wear a day dress and hat (think fascinators and respectful hemlines).
The dress code for the evening reception is black tie.
Princess Eugenie has said she wants the wedding to be plastic free.
The drinks
As Brooksbank is the UK ambassador for George Clooney's Casamigos tequila, they will likely save some money on alcohol but other drink costs are expected to total $166,500.
The ring
A rare pink-orange padparadscha sapphire, surrounded by diamonds.
Princess Eugenie wears a ring containing a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds. Photo / Getty Images
Security is expected to be the most costly element of the wedding bill, making up $3.9 million of the wedding cost and mainly due to the public procession.
Sniper coverage and anti-drone technology is expected.
The cake
The estimated cost has been put at $11,000 and Eugenie in August admitted she had been putting together Pinterest boards of possible wedding cakes.
